Obama Takes Detainee Photos to Court

The White House is asking the Supreme Court to block the detainee abuse photos that President Obama sought to suppress from public view in a high-profile reversal in May. The Justice Department filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking them to overturn a lower court's decision requiring the government to disclose the photos, which are being sought by the American Civil Liberties Union through the Freedom of Information Act. "The government need not disclose records causing danger to human life and safety," the Department of Justice complaint read. The filing says the photos show "soldiers pointing pistols or rifles at the heads of hooded or handcuffed detainees," while one shows a soldier who is acting "as if" he is violating a prisoner with a broom handle. Obama said in May that the photos would endanger troops by inflaming anti-American sentiment. Critics accused him of abandoning his stated goal of bringing transparency to the White House.